Compensation container
The introduction of a lightweight desiccant insert with a plastic or natural fiber housing, coupled via a lid to the compensation container housing, addresses the weight and environmental issues of traditional desiccant cartridges, achieving a cost-effective and waste-reduced solution for battery cooling systems.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2024218726
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2023-12-15
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-13
- Publication Date
- 2025-06-26
AI Technical Summary
Existing compensation containers for battery cooling systems face challenges due to the weight and complexity of desiccant cartridges, which are made of thin metal plates and require expensive processing, leading to environmental issues and increased waste.
The development of an exchangeable desiccant insert with a lightweight housing, such as plastic, non-woven, or natural fibers, that does not require a metal thread for attachment, instead using a lid that can be coupled to the container housing, reducing waste and manufacturing costs.
This configuration results in a weight-optimized and cost-effective compensation container that minimizes environmental impact and reduces waste during desiccant insert replacement, while ensuring effective moisture prevention in the battery cooling system.
Smart Images
Figure 2025096251000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a compensation container for a battery cooling system. The present invention further relates to a battery cooling system provided with such a compensation container.
[0002] Electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles are attracting increasing attention from consumers based on environmental considerations and are becoming increasingly popular on the road. In this case, in order to improve both the driving range and performance of such electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles, it is targeted to keep the traction battery of such electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles within an optimal temperature window with respect to this traction battery. For this purpose, in a well-known form, a temperature control device, particularly a cooling device, is used. In this case, in order to achieve particularly efficient cooling, so-called immersion cooling is also used, in which a dielectric, i.e., non-conductive, cooling medium flows around the individual battery cells of the traction battery.
[0003] In this case, such a battery cooling system, particularly for cooling a traction battery, also includes a compensation container in which air is held internally as a compensation cushion for the volume change of the cooling medium due to temperature. However, when the cooling medium present in the compensation container expands due to a temperature increase, this can result in a high pressure load in the compensation container if the excess pressure generated at this time cannot be released, and in some cases, may damage the compensation container, so this must be avoided. For this reason, such a compensation container usually has a connection to the surroundings, which enables the pressure difference due to temperature to be reduced in some cases. When the cooling medium is cooled and contracts, this results in a negative pressure in the compensation container, which causes fresh air to be sucked in from the surroundings. To prevent or at least reduce the introduction of unwanted moisture into the cooling medium at this time, so-called desiccant cartridges have been provided so far. In this desiccant cartridge, fresh air sucked in from the surroundings flows through, and a drying medium that absorbs moisture at this time and dries the sucked-in fresh air is arranged.
[0004] However, a drawback of such desiccant cartridges is that these desiccant cartridges have a housing made of a thin metal plate with a desiccant medium disposed therein, which makes them not only heavy but also require a relatively complex connection to the plastic container housing of the compensation container. Furthermore, the processing of the thin metal plate and the material of the thin metal plate are expensive, and forming the desiccant cartridge as a waste part is environmentally problematic.
[0005] Therefore, the present invention addresses the problem of providing an improved or at least one alternative embodiment for a compensation container that can overcome the drawbacks known from the prior art.
[0006] This problem is solved by the subject matter of independent claim 1 according to the present invention. Advantageous embodiments are the subject matter of the dependent claims.
[0007] The present invention is based on the general idea that an exchangeable desiccant insert is formed, which comprises a housing, in particular a plastic housing, a non-woven housing, or a natural fiber housing, and a drying medium arranged therein, but does not have a thread for screwing the desiccant insert into the container housing of the compensation container. As a result, the desiccant insert is now held via a lid that can be coupled to the container housing of the compensation container, in particular screwed on, so that an overall weight-optimized and significantly advantageous configuration with respect to the connection can be found. In this case, the compensation container according to the invention for air in a battery cooling system has the above-mentioned container housing, as well as an exchangeable desiccant insert comprising a housing and a drying medium arranged therein. Furthermore, the compensation container has a lid that can be coupled to the container housing, in particular screwed on, and the desiccant insert is at least partially accommodated in the lid. In this case, the compensation container is used for buffering the air volume based on the volume change caused by the temperature of the cooling medium, in particular oil. That is, the attachment of the desiccant insert to the container housing of the compensation container for air in the battery cooling system is now carried out via a lid that can be used for all desiccant inserts over the life of the compensation container, rather than via a metal nipple that is difficult to manufacture, thereby reducing the amount of waste during the replacement of the desiccant insert. Furthermore, the compensation container has a valve device and / or a diaphragm, and when the inside of the compensation container is dominated by overpressure, air flows out from the compensation container to the surroundings via the valve device and / or the diaphragm, and when the inside of the compensation container is dominated by negative pressure, fresh air flows into the compensation container from the surroundings via the valve device and / or the diaphragm. In this case, the suction of fresh air when the inside of the compensation container is dominated by negative pressure is of course carried out via the drying medium of the desiccant insert, thereby reliably preventing the unwanted intrusion of moisture into the compensation container and the dielectric cooling medium stored therein. An extremely high moisture content of the dielectric cooling medium may in some cases make the cooling medium conductive, which may lead to a short circuit.The compensation container according to the invention comprises a housing, in particular a plastic housing, a non-woven housing or a natural fiber housing, and enables the use of a desiccant insert that is significantly lighter in weight. This is because the desiccant insert itself may have a relatively thin and thus lightweight housing, which only serves to accommodate the drying medium disposed therein. Similar to the container housing of the compensation container, the lid, preferably formed from plastic, is a so-called durable component that is utilized over the entire life of the compensation container and, unlike the desiccant insert, does not need to be replaced. The compensation container according to the invention can also reduce the amount of waste during the replacement of the desiccant insert. This is because the desiccant insert does not have a relatively heavy metal housing, in particular a housing made of metal sheet, as in the past. Overall, the desiccant insert can also be formed more inexpensively. This is because the housing used, in particular a plastic housing, a non-woven housing or a natural fiber housing, can be manufactured significantly more simply and thus more inexpensively. The previously used metal sheet housing, which required in particular a coupling geometry, such as a threaded nipple of metal, for screwing the conventional desiccant cartridge with a metal sheet housing to the container housing, may be dispensed with.
[0008] In another advantageous embodiment of the compensation container according to the invention, the desiccant insert has an activated carbon region. In this case, the activated carbon region can adsorb harmful substances, in particular hydrocarbons, so that when overpressure prevails in the compensation container, air is usually blown out through the activated carbon region of the desiccant insert, thereby purifying the blown-out air. Such an activated carbon region with activated carbon is already well known and is used in particular, for example, in the field of fuel filters.
[0009] In another advantageous embodiment of the configuration according to the invention, the valve device and / or the diaphragm are formed and arranged such that, when the overpressure prevails in the compensation container, air flows out to the surroundings via the activated carbon area, and when the negative pressure prevails in the compensation container, fresh air flows into the compensation container from the surroundings through the drying medium. Thereby, the sucked-in fresh air can be dried and the blown-out air can be purified. Alternatively, the valve device and / or the diaphragm may be formed and arranged such that, when the overpressure prevails in the compensation container, air flows out to the surroundings via the activated carbon area and the drying medium, and when the negative pressure prevails in the compensation container, fresh air flows into the compensation container from the surroundings through the drying medium and the activated carbon area. That is, in this case, the activated carbon area and the drying medium are not connected in parallel but in series, whereby purification and drying are performed both when fresh air is sucked in from the surroundings and when air is blown out to the surroundings. Furthermore, by connecting the drying medium and the activated carbon area in series, active drying of the drying medium and purification of the activated carbon area can be achieved. For example, when the overpressure prevails in the compensation container and the dried air is blown out through the activated carbon area and the drying medium, harmful substances, such as hydrocarbons, are retained in the activated carbon area, and the drying medium is redried and thus regenerated based on the flow of this dried air. When the negative pressure prevails in the compensation container, fresh air / surrounding air flows from the surroundings into the activated carbon area, thereby purifying the activated carbon area.
[0010] In another advantageous embodiment of the compensation container according to the invention, the drying medium and / or the activated carbon area are defined by a non-woven layer. Such a non-woven layer enables, on the one hand, an unambiguous separation between the drying medium and the activated carbon and, on the other hand, an air flow that is hardly impeded, whereby the flow resistance is significantly reduced compared to, for example, a plastic grid. Of course, such a non-woven layer may also form the housing of the desiccant insert.
[0011] In another preferred embodiment of the compensation container according to the present invention, the valve device and / or the diaphragm are arranged in the desiccant insert or in the compensation container. If the valve device or the diaphragm is arranged in the compensation container, the valve device or the diaphragm can remain in the compensation container or its container housing as a durable component, which brings the great advantage that it is only necessary to discard or replace the desiccant insert together with its housing and the desiccant arranged inside. Also when the valve device or the diaphragm is arranged in the desiccant insert, these components are also periodically replaced, which brings the advantage that malfunctions based on blockage due to long-term use of the valve device or the diaphragm in particular can be prevented.
[0012] Preferably, the valve device has a double valve that is permeable in both directions, or a pressure relief valve and a negative pressure valve arranged separately from the pressure relief valve, and the pressure relief valve and the negative pressure valve are formed as simple check valves. By forming the valve device as a double valve that is permeable in both directions, a great advantage is brought that the structural space is optimized compared to two individual (check) valves. Two separate valves also bring the advantage that relatively simple and inexpensive check valves can be selected for this purpose compared to a double valve that is permeable in both directions.
[0013] In another advantageous embodiment of the compensation container according to the present invention, the lid is screwed to the container housing. For this purpose, the lid has a male thread, and the container housing has a female thread formed complementarily to the male thread, or vice versa, which enables the replacement of the desiccant insert arranged at least partially inside the lid to be relatively simple. For this, it is only necessary to unscrew the lid from the container housing of the compensation container, take out the desiccant insert or replace it with a new desiccant insert, and then screw the lid back onto the container housing of the compensation container together with the new desiccant insert. Here, a relatively simple and inexpensive O-ring seal can be used for sealing.
[0014] Alternatively, of course, the lid is not screwed into or threaded onto the container housing via a thread, but could instead be attached inside the container housing / in contact with the container housing via a plurality of screws. Sealing is effected by form-fitting. In this case, the lid and the desiccant insert do not necessarily have to be circular, but could be formed as rectangles instead.
[0015] Preferably, the desiccant insert is formed in a cylindrical shape and has a cylindrical region containing the drying medium and an activated carbon region that also continues in a cylindrical shape in the axial direction in this region. That is to say, in this case, the region for the drying medium and the activated carbon region are connected in series and are continuously flowed through. Alternatively, it is also conceivable that the desiccant insert has an annular cylindrical region for the drying medium and a cylindrical activated carbon region arranged therein. Such an embodiment could also be associated with two separate valves that function such that air is blown out from the compensation container to the surroundings via the activated carbon region and sucked in via the drying medium.
[0016] Inside the container housing, there is also arranged a diaphragm that is formed to be permeable in both directions and can be located outside the desiccant insert in the flow direction. Such a diaphragm enables the inflow of fresh air from the surroundings into the compensation container and the blowing out of air from the compensation container to the surroundings, while at the same time enabling, for example, the retention of dust particles. Thereby, pre-filtration of the air sucked in from the surroundings in particular can be effected by the diaphragm.
[0017] In another preferred embodiment of the compensation container according to the invention, a spring is provided that preloads the desiccant insert against the container housing. Such a spring, for example a simple coil spring, provides a secure and particularly rattle-free retention of the desiccant insert in the lid or the container housing, while at the same time ensuring a secure seating.
[0018] Preferably, the container housing and the lid are formed of plastic. This has the great advantage that instead of having to manufacture the relatively difficult and complex threads on a sheet metal component, for example, male threads can be formed on the lid in a simple plastic injection molding process and female threads complementary to the male threads can be formed on the container housing.
[0019] The invention further is based on the general idea of equipping a battery cooling system with a compensation container corresponding to the preceding paragraphs, thereby transferring the advantages described for this compensation container to the battery cooling system. In this case, specifically, it is the advantages of a weight-reduced desiccant insert and waste avoidance. This is because in the compensation container according to the invention, the original housing of the desiccant insert is formed by the lid. The housing of the desiccant insert, in particular a plastic housing, a non-woven housing, or a natural fiber housing, is only used for fixing the position of the drying medium or the activated carbon arranged therein and can accordingly be formed not only with a thin wall but also inexpensively, in an environmentally friendly manner, and easily. In particular, this also allows the housing of the desiccant insert, which has hitherto been formed of metal, to be omitted. By means of a lid that at least partially houses the desiccant insert and can be connected, in particular screwed, to the container housing of the compensation container, the relatively complex and thus difficult and expensive joining geometry in the desiccant insert can be omitted.
[0020] Other important features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the dependent claims, the drawings, and the description of the drawings based on the accompanying drawings.
[0021] It is self-evident that the above-described features and the features described hereinafter can be used not only in the described combinations but also in other combinations or alone without departing from the framework of the present invention. For example, the above-described constituent members and the constituent members described hereinafter, which are separately described for a higher-level aggregate such as an apparatus, equipment, or unit, may form separate constituent members or components of this aggregate even if they are shown differently in the drawings, or may be an integrated area or section of this aggregate.
[0022] Preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated and will be described in more detail in the following description. In this case, the same reference signs are related to the same, or similar, or functionally identical components.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0023]
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
[0024] Corresponding to FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5, the compensation container 1 according to the invention provided in the battery cooling system 3, particularly in the electric vehicle 4, has a container housing 5 and a replaceable desiccant insert 6 containing a drying medium 7 (see also FIG. 3). The desiccant insert 6 has a housing 8 that defines a space for the drying medium 7 disposed therein, particularly a plastic housing, a non-woven fabric housing, or a natural fiber housing. Further, a lid 9 is provided, and the lid 9 is also formed of plastic like the container housing 5 and is coupled to the container housing 5 via, for example, a screw fastening portion 10 (see FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5). In this case, the desiccant insert 6 is at least partially accommodated in the lid 9, whereby the lid 9 forms a reusable outer housing for the desiccant insert 6. This makes it possible to form a desiccant insert 6 that is relatively thin and has an optimized housing 8, particularly a plastic housing, a non-woven fabric housing, or a natural fiber housing, and does not have a relatively thick metal sheet housing as in the prior art. In particular, forming it as a natural fiber housing further provides a great advantage in terms of environmental protection.
[0025] For this purpose, the lid 9 may have a male screw thread and the container housing 9 may have a female screw thread formed complementary to the male screw thread, or vice versa, whereby the replacement of the desiccant insert 6 disposed at least partially in the lid 9 can be made relatively easily. For this purpose, simply unscrew the lid 9 from the container housing 5 of the compensation container 1, remove the desiccant insert 6 or replace it with a new desiccant insert 6, and then screw the lid 9 back onto the container housing 5 of the compensation container 1 together with the new desiccant insert 6. Alternatively, of course, it is also conceivable that the lid 9 is not coupled to the container housing 5 via the screw fastening portion 10 but is attached inside the container housing 5 / in contact with the container housing 5 via a plurality of screws. In this case, the lid 9 and the desiccant insert 6 do not have to be circular and may be formed rectangularly.
[0026] Furthermore, a valve device 11 and / or a diaphragm 12 are provided. When the inside of the compensation container 1 is under excessive pressure, air 2 can flow out from the compensation container 1 to the surroundings through the valve device 11 and / or the diaphragm 12. When the inside of the compensation container 1 is under negative pressure, fresh air 2a can flow into the compensation container 1 from the surroundings through the valve device 11 and / or the diaphragm 12. Through the diaphragm 12, in particular, contaminating particles can be retained, thereby avoiding contamination of the dielectric cooling medium inside the compensation container 1.
[0027] Continuing, looking at the desiccant insert 6 corresponding to FIGS. 3 to 5, it can be recognized that the desiccant insert 6 has a region containing a drying medium 7 and a carbon - activated region 13 filled with activated carbon. In this case, such activated carbon contributes to retaining harmful substances, such as hydrocarbons, from the air to be blown out to the outside.
[0028] The valve device 11 may be formed as a bidirectional permeable double - valve 11a, as shown in the embodiment corresponding to FIGS. 1 to 4, for example. In this case, the valve device 11 may of course also have a pressure relief valve 11b and a negative pressure valve 11c as shown in FIG. 5. In this case, the valve device 11 can open, for example, at an excessive pressure or negative pressure of ±0.4 bar.
[0029] When the overpressure dominates in the compensation container 1, the valve device 11 or the diaphragm 12 may be formed and arranged to allow the air 2 to flow out to the surroundings only through the activated carbon region 13, and when the negative pressure dominates in the compensation container, to allow the fresh air 2a to flow into the compensation container 1 from the surroundings only through the drying medium 7. In this case, the drying medium 7 and the activated carbon region 13 are connected in parallel with each other. Of course, alternatively, a series connection of the activated carbon region 13 and the drying medium 7 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is also conceivable. In this case, when the overpressure dominates in the compensation container 1, the valve device 11 and / or the diaphragm 12 may be formed and arranged to allow the air 2 to flow out to the surroundings through the activated carbon region 13 and the drying medium 7, and when the negative pressure dominates in the compensation container 1, to allow the fresh air 2a to flow into the compensation container 1 from the surroundings through the drying medium 7 and the activated carbon region 13. This brings a great advantage that the drying medium 7 can be dehumidified and thus regenerated when relatively dry air 2 is blown out from the compensation container 1 to the surroundings. At the same time, the flowing air 2 also passes through the activated carbon region 13, whereby, for example, hydrocarbons are retained. The isolation between the drying medium 7 and the activated carbon region 13 or at least partial enclosure of the drying medium 7 and / or the activated carbon region 13 may be effected by a nonwoven layer 14, which on the one hand reliably holds both the activated carbon in the activated carbon region 13 and the drying medium 7 in the desiccant insert 6 in their places, and on the other hand has a small flow resistance.
[0030] Looking at the embodiment of the desiccant insert 6 corresponding to FIG. 3, it can be recognized that the drying medium 7 and the activated carbon region 13 are connected in series, and both are substantially formed in a cylindrical shape. The same also applies to the embodiment corresponding to FIG. 4. On the other hand, looking at the embodiment corresponding to FIG. 5, it can be recognized that the drying medium 7 is formed in an annular cylindrical shape and surrounds the activated carbon region 13 formed in a cylindrical shape. In this case, when the inside of the compensation container 1 is dominated by an excessive pressure, the flow of the desiccant insert 6 corresponding to FIG. 5 is carried out to the surroundings through the open pressure relief valve 11b, the activated carbon region 13, and the diaphragm 12, whereas when the inside of the compensation container 1 is dominated by a negative pressure, fresh air 2a is sucked in from the surroundings through the diaphragm 12, the drying medium 7, and the negative pressure valve 11c.
[0031] In this case, the spring 15 restrains the desiccant insert 6 within the lid 9 and applies a preload to the desiccant insert 6 with respect to the container housing 5.
[0032] Generally, the valve device 11 and the diaphragm 12 may be arranged in the desiccant insert 6 as shown corresponding to FIG. 3. In this case, as shown corresponding to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, it is also conceivable that the diaphragm 12 is arranged in the lid 9 and the valve device 11 is arranged in the container housing 5. It is also conceivable to arrange the valve device 11 in the lid 9.
[0033] In this case, the lid 9 and the container housing 5 are preferably formed from plastic, and in particular from the same plastic. In this case, an O-ring seal 16 may be provided in the region of the screw fastening portion 10 in order to seal between the lid 9 and the container housing 5. Such an O-ring seal is inexpensive and enables a sealing state to be obtained much more easily than the compressed flat seal used in the desiccant cartridges used hitherto. As shown in FIG. 5, when the valve device 11 has a pressure relief valve 11b and a negative pressure valve 11c, another O-ring seal 16a may be provided as shown corresponding to FIGS. 4 and 5.
[0034] In short, by means of the compensation container 1 according to the present invention and the battery cooling system 3 according to the present invention, a significant reduction in resource consumption can be achieved. This is because the desiccant insert 6 does not have a relatively heavy metal sheet housing as before, but only has a relatively thin, weight-optimized housing 8, particularly a plastic housing, a non-woven fabric housing, or a natural fiber housing. Now, the lid 9 has taken over the original housing function, and the lid 9 is not replaced together during the periodic replacement of the desiccant insert 6 as a durable component. At the same time, in the case of the compensation container 1 according to the present invention, the manufacture of a threaded nipple made of metal sheet, which is complicated and thus relatively laborious and expensive, is omitted. This is because the desiccant insert 6 is no longer directly screwed to the container housing 5 of the compensation container 1. By omitting the metal sheet housing, the existing corrosion problem can also be solved.
Claims
1. A compensation container (1) for a battery cooling system (3), comprising: A container housing (5), a replaceable desiccant insert (6) comprising a housing (8) and a desiccant medium (7) disposed within the housing (8); a lid (9) connectable to the container housing (5) and having the desiccant insert (6) at least partially housed therein; A valve device (11) and / or a diaphragm (12) Equipped with When an excess pressure prevails in the compensation vessel (1), air (2) flows out of the compensation vessel (1) to the surroundings via the valve device (11) and / or the diaphragm (12), and when a negative pressure prevails in the compensation vessel (1), fresh air (2a) flows from the surroundings into the compensation vessel (1) via the valve device (11) and / or the diaphragm (12). Compensation container (1).
2. 2. The compensation container of claim 1, wherein the desiccant insert (6) comprises an activated carbon area (13).
3. the valve device (11) and / or the diaphragm (12) are configured and arranged in such a way that, in the event of an overpressure prevailing in the compensation vessel (1), air (2) flows out to the surroundings via the activated carbon area (13) and, in the event of a negative pressure prevailing in the compensation vessel (1), fresh air (2a) flows from the surroundings into the compensation vessel (1) via the drying medium (7), or the valve device (11) and / or the diaphragm (12) are configured and arranged in such a way that, in the event of an excess pressure prevailing in the compensation vessel (1), air (2) flows out to the surroundings via the activated carbon area (13) and the drying medium (7), and, in the event of a negative pressure prevailing in the compensation vessel (1), fresh air (2a) flows from the surroundings into the compensation vessel (1) via the drying medium (7) and the activated carbon area (13). The compensation container according to claim 2.
4. 4. The compensation container according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the drying medium (7) and / or the activated carbon area (13) are defined by a nonwoven fabric layer (14) and / or the housing (8) comprises a nonwoven fabric layer (14).
5. 5. The compensation vessel according to claim 1, wherein the valve device (11) and / or the diaphragm (12) are arranged in the desiccant insert (6) or in the compensation vessel (1).
6. 6. The compensation vessel according to claim 1, wherein the valve device (11) comprises a double valve (11a) permeable in both directions or comprises a pressure relief valve (11b) and a negative pressure valve (11c).
7. 7. The compensation vessel according to claim 1, wherein the lid (9) is screwed onto the vessel housing (5).
8. the desiccant insert (6) is cylindrically shaped and has an axially continuous activated carbon region (13) also cylindrically shaped; or The desiccant insert (6) is formed in an annular tubular shape and has an inner cylindrically shaped activated carbon region (13). A compensation vessel according to any one of claims 2 to 7.
9. 9. The compensation container according to claim 1, further comprising a spring (15) for preloading the desiccant insert (6) against the container housing (5).
10. 10. The compensation container according to claim 1, wherein the container housing (5) and the lid (9) are made of plastic, in particular of the same plastic.
11. 11. The compensation container according to claim 1, wherein the housing (8) is designed as a plastic housing, as a nonwoven housing or as a natural fiber housing.
12. A battery cooling system (3) comprising a compensation container (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 11.